Chapter 36: Diamond
"Holy bloody Merlin!" said Sirius, his fork frozen mid-air in front of his mouth.
"What is it?" Remus asked, rubbing his eyes.
He was wearing the soft, unguarded look that Sirius loved.
"What are you talking about?" said Peter.
Sirius blinked, momentarily completed diverted by Remus looking delectable.
"The fucking ring, you fools!" he said, practically hopping with excitement.
"Pardon?" said Remus, stifling a yawn, and looking around.
Lily and James were walking towards their table across the great hall, looking ridiculously in love. James' arm was wrapped protectively around Lily's shoulders and hers around his waist. They were whispering and laughing, gazing into each other's eyes adoringly. As he watched, James stopped walking and moved to hold Lily's face tenderly in his hands and kissed her. She closed her eyes and deepened the kiss, a flash of light as she moved her hands to rest on James' arms.
"I don't believe it!" he said, staring at Sirius in shock.
"Yess!" said Sirius, punching the air triumphantly. "I fucking knew it! You owe me a year's supply of firewhisky, Moony!"
"Whaddayamean?" said Peter, who had been too caught up in finishing his Irish Breakfast to see anything.
"You're engaged!" Sirius called out, beaming at them as he stood up and raising his glass of pumpkin juice. "I'm so fucking thrilled! Prongs, you wonderful, glorious idiot! I told you she'd say yes!"
The entire room was now staring at Sirius, a not unusual occurrence.
"Of course I did, Sirius!" said Lily, with the happiest smile Sirius had ever seen. "We're getting married!"
Peter dropped the glass of orange juice onto his lap and stared at them in confusion. Across the hall, Severus Snape dropped his cup of coffee, splintering across the floor noisily.
Sirius deftly hopped over the long bench and rushed over to smother Lily in a bear hug, Lily laughing and hugging him back just as enthusiastically.
"Lily, I'm so bloody happy for you, Darling, I'm so, so, glad!" Sirius said. "Thank you for saying yes!"
Lily laughed again and shook her head at him.
"Yes, brother-in-law!" she said cheekily, patting his shoulder.
The smile on Sirius' face made Remus ridiculously happy.
"I told you that you'd end up being my sister-in-law, did I not, old thing?" he grinned. "I bags-"
"Yes, Pads, you can be my Best Man!" said James, who also wore the biggest smile Sirius had ever seen.
Sirius grabbed hold of James' blazer and hugged him tightly, unable to speak. He coughed self-consciously.
"I couldn't be happier for you, old boy," he said gruffly. "You did good!"
"Thank you, for the push," said James, grinning back and messing up Sirius' hair.
Sirius didn't even notice.
Remus stood up, mirroring his friends' smiles.
"Lily!" he said, as she hugged him warmly.
He looked at her and they didn't need to speak to communicate. She squeezed his hands tightly and laughed joyfully.
"Some good news!" she said.
"Such good news," he said.
James came over, hugging him and laughing too.
"You're going to be insufferably positive, Prongs, worse than ever," Remus commented, trying to keep a straight face and failing utterly.
"For the rest of my life, Moony," laughed James, his eyes sparkling. "Get used to it! This inane grin will still be in place when I'm old and crotchety!"
Remus bit the side of his lip, smiling at his friends. Sirius beamed at Remus and hugged him impulsively, planting a kiss on his cheek in front of the entire room.
"Gerrof, Pads!" said Remus, swatting his arm.
"Moony is old and crotchety already," said Sirius, turning to James and giving an exaggerated sigh. "Can you imagine what he'll be like when he's actually a grumpy old man?"
He winked at Remus.
"God help me!" groaned Remus. "If I still have you to deal with, I'll be permanently peevish, cantankerous, argumentative and waspish!"
"Fuck!" said Sirius, staring at Remus and biting his lower lip suggestively. "You'll still be fucking sexy, with your eloquent gibberish…"
His voice trailed off, as he stared at Remus entranced.
If I still have you to deal with…
Never had he heard more beautiful words in his entire life.
"Bloody hell, Prongs! You could have warned us!" said Peter, looking all flustered, wiping the spilt drink off his trousers as he went to hug the couple.
"Potter and Evans are engaged!" Sirius turned to the students sitting around them, grinning manically.
Most of the students (with notable exceptions) began to clap enthusiastically, the entire Gryffindor table stood up, cheering and banging their cutlery off the table, making an unholy racket, and soon there was a standing ovation for the couple, now smiling sheepishly at the crowd, James bringing Lily closer to him and looking at her in adoration.
"Sweet Merlin," Sirius whispered conspiratorially. "Check out the death stares from Snivellus, Prongs! I have to pinch myself in case I've died, and this is heaven!"
James snorted loudly, glancing briefly at the Slytherin table. Snape's shocked and horrified face glared daggers at him. He looked away quickly. He didn't want to antagonise Snape and besides, he couldn't help feeling sorry for the entire student population of Hogwarts. She had agreed to marry him, of all people! Yes, he even felt sorry for his nemesis today.
"Congratulations, Miss. Evans and Mr. Potter!" said Mc Gonagall, who had walked in behind them.
She looked positively delighted, bringing Lily in for a motherly hug, remembering all the losses and trials of the past year that the couple had endured. James beamed at her and gave her a strong hug, partially lifting her off the ground. She couldn't find it in herself to scold him.
"Well done, Mr. Potter!" she said instead, her eyes overly bright, as James' hazel eyes shone. "I think you'll both be very happy. I couldn't approve more!"
It was Lily's turn to get emotional, swiping at her eyes as she laughed and squeezed Mc Gonagall's hand tightly. The Head of Gryffindor House was the nearest thing to a parent that she had.
"Thank you, for everything, Professor!" she said.
"Call me Minnie!" she whispered to Lily, and with an unmistakable wink she walked off towards the Professors' table.
"Lily!" Dorcas and Emmeline screamed excitedly, and she ran off towards them as they enveloped her in a group hug.
"Fucking mudblood, that's disgusting, somebody should put a stop to it, imagine thinking she's worthy of marrying one of us. Sickening!"
James turned, it was a Third Year Ravenclaw, Katherine Kinsfolk, talking to her friends, openly, like she knew they would hear and didn't care. She looked up and caught James' eye, challenging him to react. He felt overwhelming emotion, too much – a wave of anger, rage and impotence at whoever had fed this girl the kind of lies and prejudice that led to this.
"Leave it. Don't let her ruin this moment for Lily," Sirius' voice was surprisingly calm. "This is the sort of bullshit I used to react to all the time. It's what they want."
James looked at him, at Remus who looked ready to hurl the contents of the breakfast table at her, at Peter's stressed face. He nodded, hands still shaking, jaw clenched tightly.
"Twenty points from Ravenclaw, for being a bigoted bitch!"
It was Rosie Lupplin, looking at the Third Year with venom.
"I'm so sorry, James, I don't put up with this sort of behaviour. Everyone is entitled to the same respect, no matter what their blood status is. Purebloods are not better than the rest of us. We are all different, and we should respect our differences, celebrate them, rather than holding onto narrow-minded, hate-filled views," Rosie said.
"Thank you, Rosie," said James, smiling at Rosie, and feeling some of the weight on his chest lifting. "That means a lot."
"Detention with Filch for disrespecting the Head Girl, Kinsfolk, Saturday afternoon," James added, in a dismissive tone of voice, and walked off.
"But that's a Hogsmeade weekend!" said Kinsfolk, staring after him, looking flabbergasted.
"Should have thought of that before you opened your nasty little mouth, shouldn't you?" said Sirius, smiling widely.
"It'll be a double detention, Kinsfolk," said Remus. "You disrespected all muggleborn students."
"You can't give me detention, Lupin, you're only a Prefect!" said Kinsfolk, glaring at him condescendingly.
Remus' face shone with defiance.
"Try me!" he countered, staring down at her. "Accept the detention, or face the consequences of me telling Professor Mc Gonagall what you said!"
Remus looked calm, but you'd want to be thick as a brick not to see the fire brimming under the surface, Sirius thought. Remus was so sexy when he got worked up… especially when it involved standing up to pureblood bigots. He could think of nothing hotter…
Kinsfolk made a sour face, conceding defeat. Sirius grinned at her childishly, then jogged after Remus.
"Er, Moony, I think you forgot your Transfiguration homework in the dorm, Darling," he said.
"Did I?" said Remus, looking more annoyed. "Shit! I'm going to be late, I'll catch up with you."
"No rush, Moony, I'll accompany you," said Sirius smoothly, flashing Remus an innocent smile.
"Sure, thanks Pads," Remus smiled back warmly.
Remus was going to kill him when he realised it was all a ruse to get him alone in their dorm, but he could see it playing out to the end – a lecture, frowning displeasure (at being lied to), him looking irresistible as he loosened his tie, Remus looking exasperated and entertained, a lot of eye rolling, amusement despite himself, kissing… a lot of that sort of lark…
…
"All ready for the start of the NEWTs tomorrow?" asked Sirius, throwing his feet up on the desk in front of him and glancing at James' desk in disbelief. "I can't believe you took notes, Prongs! Who the hell takes notes?"
"Not me!" said James, grinning at Sirius and trying to find room on his desk to stick his elbow.
The topsy-turvy pile of books wobbled precariously, tipped over and landed on his inkwell, which flew into the air rather acrobatically, splashing both students enthusiastically before landing inside the mug of tea and destroying all his notes.
"Boys, can you keep it down? Pince will kick us all out," said Lily, kicking James in the shin and trying not to laugh. "I practically have half the Charms syllabus to study between now and Thursday morning!"
"Impressive!" said Sirius, flicking his wrist as the mess disappeared within seconds. "So you supplied Prongs with the notes, I take it?"
"Not these recent ones, these are all courtesy of one Peter Pettigrew, aka Wormtail, aka my new best friend!" said Lily, looking pleased with herself.
"Well, my entire set of Transfiguration notes for the past two years is made up entirely of the notes that Minnie owled me. You know, you were… otherwise engaged, in that cell thing-a-ma-jig. I think she felt sorry for us!" Sirius grinned.
"That only covered the few weeks we missed out on," Lily reminded him. "They were amazing though."
"They were, I nearly made Moony beg me for them. Usually it's the other way around, with me doing the begging, so I was enjoying the change of perspective," Sirius winked at them meaningfully.
"Moony is going to kill you one of these days!" James laughed out loud.
"Shush!" Lily said, playfully hitting James' arm with her elbow.
"Ah yes, but why would Minnie do that? I happen to know that she also covered the transfiguration of round objects during that time, but did she send me any notes about that topic? No!" said Sirius, crossing his arms and regarding them smugly. "I bet she's giving us a question on the transfiguration of liquids!"
"Excellent observation, Pads!" said James, looking immensely relieved. "I could kiss you!"
"I'd rather you didn't," said Sirius.
"Twat!" laughed James. "Make sure you tell Moony and Wormy about your theory!"
"Pince is coming, shut up!" hissed Lily, putting her head down.
….
"Have you decided on a date yet?" Sirius said to Lily, as they left the library together.
"Yes, just this morning, we wanted to have it as soon as possible, but James' parents are still recovering from their illness, so we decided to have it in August, to give them a chance to help out with the preparations," said Lily, smiling widely.
"August? August?" said Sirius, looking horrified. "But, but that's in two months!"
"We don't need more time, Sirius," laughed Lily, linking arms with him. "We don't want a big wedding, not with everything that's happened recently… as long as you guys are there with Monty and Mia, we're happy."
Lily's smile had a wistful quality and Sirius squeezed her arm. He didn't know how to tell her how sorry he was about her parents' death, and how her upcoming wedding might make this loss more acute. But he did know a thing or two about being estranged from family members.
"Fuck Petunia," he said, matter-of-factly.
"Yeah," said Lily, blowing at her side fringe. "I was going to ask her to be bridesmaid, just cause, well, she is my sister …"
Lily cleared her throat hurriedly.
"Point is, she said no, she's not coming at all, so that's probably for the best anyway…" Lily's voice trailed off.
"Fuck Petunia!" said Sirius. "She's a royal pain in the arse and you wouldn't be able to enjoy yourself with her hissing disapproval at everything, and especially at James, so just as well she's not coming."
"God almighty, what was I even thinking!" said Lily, staring at Sirius. "That would have been a total nightmare! Thank goodness she isn't coming!"
Sirius noted her eyes still looked sad and he patted her shoulder kindly.
"It'll be beautiful, wait till you see, just perfect," he said.
"D' you know, you're one hell of a brother-in-law, Sirius," said Lily, smiling at Sirius with pride. "I'm so lucky to have you."
Sirius beamed at her.
"Have you thought about a dress yet?" he said.
"Er, not exactly," she said, playing with the back of her earring. "I was thinking of getting something in a second hand shop, a nice dress, you can get really nice ones for-"
"Second hand?" said Sirius, looking appalled. "Why on earth would you do that?"
"Because…" said Lily, folding her arms.
"Lily Evans," said Sirius, folding his arms in turn. "Explain. Are you short of cash?"
Lily's chin shot up defensively.
"Lily," said Sirius. "I'll buy it for you, as a wedding present. Please. I've no idea what to get you two, Prongs is loaded, at least this would be something useful."
"I don't want you to buy it," Lily muttered.
"Did your parents not leave you…" Sirius' voice trailed off.
"They didn't have a will. I mean I should get half, I presume, but Petunia won't let me see any correspondence, I think she's trying to…" Lily's voice broke and she looked up and blinked rapidly.
"Fucking hell!" said Sirius, his eyes narrowing.
"It's alright," said Lily, taking a deep breath. "I won't need the money, she can keep it all, as far as I'm concerned. James and I spoke about it, and he agrees we should let her have everything. But Dad had just given me enough money to barely see me through this term and that's all I have. I owled her and explained that I'll pay her back, but she doesn't believe me…"
A single tear fell down her cheek.
"Sorry," she huffed, wiping it away quickly. "She was just so mean about James…"
"I can't believe you're marrying that awful boy. I hope you realise that if you do go ahead and marry him, I never want to see you again, so don't even consider coming to visit Vernon and me. I'll send you a present for your wedding, don't worry, so we'll be quits, seeing as you bought me one. I don't know what Mum and Dad ever saw in him. He should have asked me for your hand in marriage and I would have refused. I shall not be attending the wedding. He is the reason we are now estranged.
Petunia
"C'mere," said Sirius, enveloping Lily in a strong hug. "Don't mind the old cow! I'm buying your dress and that's final. I have exceptionally good taste, and I always manage to make my friends look dashing, when I'm given the chance. And how could I fail to make you look stunning, Evans, when you are exceptionally beautiful?"
Lily rolled her eyes and grinned at him, giving him a dig with her elbow.
"I am not!" she said, with a grateful smile. "I feel bad, Sirius-"
"Enough! It's decided. Once the exams are over, you and I are going shopping in muggle London for a dress!" said Sirius, looking delighted.
"You just want to hang out in muggle London!" laughed Lily.
"That too," he said. "I want to buy some muggle records, and some more muggle clothes, and well, don't tell, but I'm thinking of buying myself a motorbike."
"A motorbike, for you? Oh God, Sirius, that sounds lethal!" groaned Lily. "Is it wise?"
"Very extremely wise," said Sirius loftily, with a gleam in his eyes. "Exceptionally wise, as well as gorgeously sexy!"
Lily snorted and linked his arm again.
"Alright, it's a deal!" she said. "But I think Remus won't be impressed."
"Oh I don't know. When he sees me looking all bad boy, in my leathers, sitting astride my new motorbike, I don't think he'll mind all that much?" Sirius winked.
"Perhaps not," Lily grinned back.
…
"NEWTs tomorrow," said Peter, anxiously rubbing his hands together.
"Stop stating the fucking obvious, Wormy!" snapped Sirius.
He was sitting at his desk in their dorm, a sight rarely if ever seen before.
Remus looked up from his bed, where he sat against the headboard surrounded by a pile of books, and raised his brow silently.
"Sorry," Sirius muttered moodily, meeting Remus' eyes. "It's just that I have the entire Potions course to cover by tomorrow morning and I may have been overly optimistic in regard to what I could cover within that time frame."
Remus couldn't help the tiny smile that lit his face.
"I swear to Merlin, if you beat me in Potions on one night's study, I will personally end you!" he said.
"Kinky!" smirked Sirius.
Remus ignored him, looking back down.
"Where's Prongs disappeared to? He was only going down to the kitchens to grab a snack," said Peter. "He should be back by now?"
"Bloody Prongs," sighed Sirius, whisking the map out from under a stack of scrolls.
"Fuck!" he said, standing up suddenly,
"Pads?" said Remus, immediately alert.
On the Marauders' Map, Sirius could see the tiny footprints of one James Potter surrounded by a group of Seventh Year Slytherins that sent shivers down his spine.
"Kitchen corridor, now!" he ordered, his hand gripping the map tightly.
…
"All out past curfew? Looks like it's a choice between points deductions or detentions, depending on how you lot behave now," James said evenly, taking out his wand.
It was definitely planned, they had waited and ambushed him here, knowing he would be making the late-night trip down to the kitchens on his own. It was a habit he had gotten into since he had been locked up. He should have been more careful. Looking at their faces he knew, instinctively, what this was about. And it made him boil with rage. Wilkes, Carrow, Hornsby, Rowle, Blishwick, Shafiq, Burke, Mc Dougal, Crabbe… all purebloods, all bigoted bastards, every last one of them. All staring at him with hate in their eyes.
"Now fuck off, all of you, before I do something I'll regret," he spat out, unable to keep the fury out of his voice.
"Shut up, blood traitor!" said Carrow, taking a step towards him. "You asked for this."
"Piss off," scoffed James. "If you think you can intimidate me, you pathetic little fucking coward, you've another thing coming-"
Wilkes and Hornsby moved forwards.
"What the fuck do you want?" asked James, and the total absence of fear in his voice seemed to infuriate them further.
"We want you to call off your wedding to that mudblood," said Carrow, looking livid. "It's a betrayal of our community, your blood, your parents-"
"My parents are positively delighted, you scum!" growled James, advancing towards Carrow. "And don't you DARE call Lily Evans a mudblood, take it back!"
He was so angry he was shaking.
"Blood traitor!" hissed Carrow, now standing right in front of James.
"I said take it back," James' voice was so low they could barely hear him, but he looked like he was about to snap.
"Never! You will not marry a fucking mudblood cu-" said Carrow.
He never finished the sentence as James' fist collided heavily with his jaw, sending him flying backwards against Crabbe and Rowle.
The remaining students raised their wands, all pointed at him. He couldn't duel against nine of them at once.
"Expecto Patronum!" said James, a shimmering large stag bursting from the tip of his wand and cantering into the night, headed for Dumbledore's quarters.
Multiple spells hit him at once, his wand flying out towards Crabbe, rendered immobile by a spell from Burke, as Mc Dougal's curse hit his shoulder and he felt blood seeping through. Carrow stood up gingerly, wincing as he touched his jaw.
"Dumbledore will take ages to get here. This is a warning, Potter, you still have the chance of saving yourself," said Carrow. "But go through with marrying that little mudblood bitch, and we'll get you. She's a target anyway. All mudbloods will be dead, one at a time, we'll get them all. Once we leave here, your precious Professors won't be able to save her. We'll get her, and when we do get her, we'll make her pay, we'll kill her slowly, do you understand? We'll-"
"If any of you go near her, I swear I'll come after you, and you don't want to know what I'll do to you," James' voice was shaking wildly, whether due to rage or terror, he couldn't tell.
"Oh yes, we're terribly scared, Potter, as you can tell, one blood traitor taking on the might of Voldemort," laughed Carrow, his broad frame looming over James as he lay on the ground. "Do yourself a favour, Potter, consider your options and get away from Evans before it's too late. If not, there's nothing I'll enjoy more than finishing you off, personally, once and for all. You should have been in Azkaban by now, if your fucking dirty little girlfriend and your blood traitor friends hadn't interfered. Orion Black's plan was flawless."
"Evidently not," sneered James, regarding him with savage glee. "He just wasn't banking on an eighteen-year-old muggleborn having more intelligence than the lot of you put together. All that in-breeding rearing its ugly head, I expect. Bet he's sickened, that a muggleborn student was able to best him! Bet you were sickened too, after scheming to get him into the building, you devious little fucker!"
Carrow looked momentarily stunned, as well he might – Potter, lying on the ground surrounded by nine men and jeering at him, making him feel inferior.
"Shut up!" Carrow hissed, kicking James in the stomach viciously. "It was perfect, I let Orion in, everything went to plan, everything! If that First Year traitor hadn't interfered, you'd be surrounded by Dementors by now!"
"Big mistake, Carrow," groaned James, attempting to get up and collapsing back down. "You should really think before you start bragging about helping a convicted criminal in front of Albus Dumbledore."
Carrow's head shot up and he froze. Dumbledore stood a few feet away from them, hands clasped in front of him, holding his wand, a stern and disappointed look on his face.
"Yes, Mr. Carrow, I'm afraid I heard all that," said Dumbledore. "The Aurors are on their way as we speak."
He sounded weary, bone weary, James thought. Dumbledore looked at him and with wordless magic released him from the spell. James staggered to his feet, biting his lip, feeling light-headed.
"Are you alright, Mr. Potter?" asked Dumbledore.
"Perfectly fine, Sir," said James, staring at Carrow, still fuming.
"Everyone else, go to your rooms immediately, you will each lose fifty points from Slytherin, for starters. Any further incidents and you will be excluded from sitting your NEWT exams, and expelled forthwith," Dumbledore said, looking at the eight other students grimly.
They hesitated, and then left, one by one, heads down, looking disgusted.
"He's expelled, isn't he?" asked James, continuing to stare at Carrow.
"Yes, Mr. Potter," sighed Dumbledore, flicking his wrist, wordlessly removing Carrow's wand and rooting him to the spot.
"And he'll go on trial for-" James began.
"Yes, Mr. Potter, he will," Dumbledore cut him off.
"You didn't hear what he said about Lily!" James' voice was sharp, furious, and he was glaring at the old man. "Do something, for fuck's sake! Do something, Professor! They want to kill her, Voldemort's forces, all the muggleborn students are a target, Sir, and Denver Flint! You've got to do something. You can't just stand there and do nothing!"
"We are doing something, Potter," said Dumbledore, looking back at James calmly. "Everything we can. I expect you will too."
The Order.
"Too damned right, Sir!" James said.
It wasn't enough. He wanted to punch Carrow again, he was scared at what he wanted to do to him…
"I'm going to bed. I can't stand…" his voice wavered, bending down to pick up his wand, he gave Carrow one last look, pouring all his helpless rage into it.
"Good night, Potter," said Dumbledore.
Dumbledore sounded like he was glad to be rid of him. He turned away, cursing under his breath as he walked down the dark corridor, Carrow's words replaying in his head.
"We'll get her, and when we do get her, we'll make her pay, we'll kill her slowly, do you understand?"
"Bastards!" he said, punching the stone wall violently with his fist.
"Prongs! Are you alright!" Sirius' voice cut through the red fog.
James looked up, his knuckles bleeding and his left hand throbbing painfully.
"I'm - no," he said shortly. "I'm not fucking alright!"
He looked pale, his eyes wide, his nostrils flaring.
"James, what happened?" asked Remus, looking at him with concern, Peter biting his nails anxiously.
"Fucking bastards," James said through clenched teeth.
He met Sirius' gaze, Sirius looking at him fiercely, like he was preparing for a fight.
"Pads, I need to talk to you, alone!" he said brusquely.
He looked at Remus and Peter, an uncharacteristic look on his face. Intimidating. Forbidding.
"Fine, we'll go," said Remus, trying not to be too worried or offended by James' behaviour. "We'll be studying in the dorm, if you need us. You take the map, please."
James nodded curtly.
"Thanks," he said. "Appreciate it."
"Prongs?" Sirius said, as soon as the other two had left.
"Don't ask me what happened. If I think about it, I'll drive myself mad! Give me something to do, anything, I need to do something useful, or I swear to Merlin I'm going to explode!" James said, his voice ragged.
"Something BAMF you mean?" said Sirius, reading James correctly.
"Something fucking BAMF, against Voldemort's side, yes," said James, wincing as he tried to flex his fingers.
"I see," said Sirius. "Let me think."
This was why Sirius was his best friend, James thought, no questions asked, just immediate support when he needed it, like he knew how important this was to him.
Sirius paused.
"There was something, I just didn't want to bother you with it, seeing as you'd just gotten engaged," Sirius hesitated. "But it's against the bigoted bastards on our side."
"Tell me," James said.
So he did.
"Right," said James, who had silently listened to Sirius' account of Remus' visit to Register at the Ministry, looking more and more hostile. "Let's go."
Sirius raised his right eyebrow.
"To the Department*?" he said.
"To the Werewolf Department, to raze it to the ground," said James, jaw tight, as he stuck his wand in his pocket. "We should bring the brooms, and the cloak, just in case. Bound to be anti-apparition wards around it."
"You're really going to do this with me?" Sirius asked, looking at James hopefully. "I didn't dare hope that you'd-"
"Well then you're an idiot Pads," said James hotly. "How fucking dare they treat Remus, of all people, like that!"
"My thoughts entirely," grinned Sirius, following James down the corridor, his grey eyes flashing.
They were just about to enter the secret passageway at the statue of the hump-backed witch, leading into Honeyduke's cellar, when they heard someone clearing their throat loudly and froze.
"The explanation for this had better be creative, lads," said Lily, crossing her arms and looking alarmingly like Minerva Mc Ginagall.
"Er, well, as it happens," began Sirius, trying to remain suave and failing.
"You were leaving without telling me," Lily reminded them both, although she reserved her most daunting look for James.
"What the fucking hell are you doing wandering around the castle on your own?" said James, his tone of voice brusque.
"Excuse me?" Lily's face flushed immediately, her temper flaring.
"You shouldn't go anywhere alone, ever, you hear me? Are you completely insane?" James looked at her in agitation.
"Don't tell me what to do, Potter, or I swear to God I'll…" snapped Lily.
He looked so angry, he had never talked to her like this.
"Just because we're engaged does not give you the right to be rude!" she added.
She hated that her voice wavered.
"Er, well," said Sirius, his eyes darting from James to Lily.
"What's the hell is going on?" Lily demanded.
"It's complicated," said James, white faced.
"Try me, Potter, I have all night," Lily said.
"It's Remus. The bastards at the Ministry made him register and had him branded. There's talk of them rounding up all werewolves, indefinitely," said James.
"And?" said Lily, looking disgusted at the awful news.
"And, we're not letting it happen, damn it! All their records are burning tonight," James said.
"I see," said Lily. "You have thought this through, I take it?"
"Yes," began James. "Well, no, what do you mean?"
"So you have thought through the probability that if you manage to destroy the building, suspicion will inevitably fall on werewolves, and could lead to a wave of even more severe anti-werewolf legislation, let alone anti-werewolf sentiments among the public?" said Lily.
James and Sirius looked at each other and said nothing.
"As I suspected," Lily said. "The other option is that the government think it's Voldemort's forces, and identify werewolves as even more pro- Voldemort than they actually are, with similar consequences?"
"Fuck!" said James, running his hand through his hair. "What the fuck do we do?"
"We don't use magic," said Lily firmly. "Make it look like an accident. Everyone smokes in government buildings, don't they? Let's see where the cigarette ashes are, add in a lighted cigarette and think about adding in some petrol, that won't show up in any Auror investigation."
"Petrol?" said Sirius excitedly. "As in petrol for motorbikes and cars?"
"Yeah," said Lily. "I can buy some at a petrol station, but we'll have to find one that isn't closed, or nick some."
"I love petrol," grinned Sirius, looking at James. "I really do need to buy that motorbike, old chap! See how useful it would have been on this occasion? A life saver!"
"You're buying a motorbike and you didn't think to tell me?" said James, looking horrified.
"I mean, I was going to-" said Sirius.
"Oi! If this is happening tonight, we need to get a move on, boys! You two can continue your mindless swooning over machinery when we get back!" said Lily.
"Exams start tomorrow, Evans," said James, looking at Lily with a guilty expression. "Are you sure you-"
"Are you trying to imply you two can afford to take a few hours off, but I can't, Potter?" said Lily, with an icy tone.
"Merlin, no, not at-" said James, running his fingers through his hair.
"Good," said Lily, cutting him off. "Now get into that secret passageway before we're spotted by Filch!"
…
"I'm sorry, about earlier," said James, pulling his t-shirt over his head.
They had been silent since they had returned, walking up the long corridors, stepping around each other in Lily's room, glancing furtively at each other, until the silence stretched out too thin.
"Yeah?" Lily said.
James nodded.
"I didn't mean to be a prick," he said quietly. "I'm sorry."
"Thank you," said Lily, looking up at him, pausing as she slipped on her pyjamas. "What happened, James, earlier on? Your mood, the cut on your shoulder…"
He shook his head, jaw tight. She noted the way his eyes flashed briefly before he sighed.
"Some fuckers being fuckers," he said.
He sat down on the opposite side of the bed.
"Please, don't go anywhere on your own. Please. Promise me, Lily?"
She was still miffed, but she saw the residual tension, how anxious he seemed, the look in his eyes. It wasn't hard to guess why James might be worried about her, even if she didn't know the details, didn't want to know them. She hadn't told him, about the whispered disapproving remarks, the haughty sneers, the hissed poisonous throwaway comments. It was a minority of students, but she had still been surprised, stupidly naïve in her happiness. But she didn't care, and she knew he would, so she kept it from him. He was keeping things from her too.
She sighed.
"Alright, Potter, only because you asked nicely," she said, rolling her eyes fondly. "And because I love you. And because school is practically finished."
She saw his shoulders relax, the frown dissolve. He smiled at her warmly and climbed across the bed towards her.
"And mostly because shirtless James is my favourite James," Lily said, determined to make him feel better, running her hand down his chest.
"Oh yeah?" said James, with a cocky grin.
"Yeah," said Lily, a slow smile growing.
"Were you planning on getting more study done?" James said in a low voice.
"Doesn't look like it, does it?" Lily laughed, her pupils wide. "Were you?"
"At this moment in time? Not a chance!" he said, leaning forwards and kissing her hungrily.
She kissed him back.
"I'm sorry," he whispered in between kisses.
"I'm sorry too," she said. "Let's forget about them."
She was trying to forget her conversation with Snape earlier that evening…
…
"Lily!"
His voice jumped out at her from behind the tapestry in the darkened corridor.
"Merlin, you nearly gave me a heart attack, Severus!" said Lily, putting her wand down slowly. "What do you want?"
She had been expecting this, as soon as the school knew she was engaged to James, she knew Snape would confront her.
"What do you want, Snape?"
The question seemed to catch him off guard. He continued gazing at her, as though trying to answer the question himself, his dark eyes burning fiercely, the fires from the torches on the wall reflected in his irises.
A shiver went through her.
"What do you want from me?" she repeated, trying to keep her voice steady.
You, Lily, it's always been you. It will always be you. I'm in love with you. I need you. I've never loved anyone else. I never will. You've got to want me too.
She didn't know how she knew what he was thinking, didn't know was this magic, related in some way to mind-reading, or merely intuition. She shivered violently, wrapping her arms around herself, wand still pointed shakily at Severus. Her ex-best friend. How had she ever liked him? How had she been so blind? Had he been a good person, all those years ago? She couldn't tell, couldn't trust herself. All those years…
"Do you remember when we used to turn the weedy grass in front of the playground into a wildflower meadow? Wandless magic, before we started school?" she whispered.
He nodded, looking surprised.
"And the time we painted Mrs. Lonergan's doors and windows using the charmed paint because she couldn't afford to?" Lily said. "It still looks wonderful, even after six years. Good as new."
He looked awkward then, wincing slightly.
"It embarrasses you, admitting to this now," said Lily, with a catch in her voice. "You pretended you were interested in her, but you were only doing it to please me, weren't you?"
His silence confirmed it.
"I thought you were kind, Severus. I stupidly thought… do you know how attractive kindness is? For a short while I was so in awe of all your magical knowledge and I thought you were kind…" she stopped.
I could maybe even have grown to love you as more than a friend, she thought, if you hadn't fallen in love with Dark Magic. But she wasn't going to let him know that now.
"My friends, you must see, Lily," said Severus desperately, stepping closer to her. "I couldn't be seen to…"
"Tell me Severus, how could we be friends now? Now you are a Death Eater, and have vowed to kill people like me? That's what your friends do, torture and kill muggles. You want me to like you, to love you even. How, Severus? How do you propose to manage that?"
He couldn't answer her. His eyes flashed from side to side, trying to think of a reply.
"Ugh! God, Severus!" said Lily, holding her head in her hands. "What were you thinking! How did you get involved in this madness?"
"I didn't have you," he whispered. "I lost my way without you."
Lily's eyes brimmed over with tears and she shook her head.
"Don't," she said. "Don't you dare try to blame it on me! You had lost your way when I was still your friend! You've been making friends with Nazi wizards since we were in Second Year. I was your best friend Severus, and you stood and watched when they attacked Mary and you did nothing! Nothing! God! I hate that I was blind to it all for so long! Tell me you're not a Death Eater! Please, Sev, are you?"
He gulped, his dark eyes looked haunted for a moment, and she felt revulsion and pity for him. Pity. For this man who had tried to ruin James. What was wrong with her? She hated herself for it. She hated that it hurt so much to know the full truth. Tears ran down her face.
"Lily, I can explain, it's to keep you," he started, moving to stand right in front of her.
"Sev, don't!" she whispered. "Don't lie to me!"
She might kill him, when she joined the Order in a few weeks. She might kill him if they fought, she wouldn't be able to recognise him, in his hideous mask. She didn't want to kill him, despite everything. She hated him, and she felt sorry for him.
"Lily!" he grabbed hold of her arm, and she jerked back immediately.
"Don't!" she said hoarsely.
He backed away then, reluctantly. She turned to leave.
"Lily!" he called out, his voice hard now. "Don't you dare marry Potter!"
"I will marry him, and no threats from you or any other fucking bigot is going to stop me!"
…..
"I may have accidentally been somewhat, er, biased, in my choice of exam questions," said Slughorn, looking at Mc Gonagall over his spectacles as he sipped his tea.
"Oh?" she looked back as him sternly.
"Er, yes, well, I happen to know that those Marauder chaps and Lily Evans are all a deft hand at preparing Healing Potions," said Slughorn, squirming in his seat.
"And?"
"Er, and, I may have subconsciously arranged it so that half of the entire exam focuses on this area," he spluttered.
"I see," Minerva regarded him coolly, setting down her cup and saucer. "Very important skill, Horace, especially with the war raging outside of Hogwarts."
"Quite," said Slughorn hurriedly. "Damned important, Healing Potions, what?"
Minerva nodded curtly.
"And I believe that the History of Magic exam is focusing on anti-werewolf legislation through the years," Slughorn added.
"Oh," Minerva sniffed.
"Thing is, Minerva, Binns is rather fond of Mr. Lupin, felt a bit sorry for him, what with all the stress that lot were under, and you know, his career prospects, or lack thereof," said Slughorn, biting into a dainty cucumber sandwich.
"I see," said Minerva, pursing her lips. "Well, he is a very likable young man."
"Oh yes, thoroughly decent chap," agreed Horace, nodding vigorously. "A very decent bunch, all of them, especially Miss. Evans."
Minerva allowed herself a quick smile.
"Miss. Evans is exceptionally nice, yes," she said.
"I don't suppose you were tempted to-" began Slughorn.
"To what, Horace?"
"Er, nothing, my dear, of course you weren't. Nothing at all," he babbled, fixing his bowtie nervously.
Minerva thought about the exam paper she had set for the NEWTs, mostly focusing on the Transfiguration of liquids, her eyes twinkling as she silently sipped her tea.
…..
It was the final day of school for the Seventh Years. The entire student body was gathered in the great hall, the professors sitting on one side and the parents sitting on the opposite one, beaming with pride. James spotted his parents and waved frantically back at them. He gripped Lily's hand and squeezed it reassuringly, knowing she felt the loss of her parents and her disappointment at Petunia's absence. Sirius' mother was conspicuous in her absence, thank Merlin. Remus was smiling happily at his own parents, who looked awestruck. He ducked his head with embarrassment. He still couldn't believe how well he had done in his exams. Dumbledore was finishing his speech now, talking about how the future was in their hands, and it scared him a little.
"And so, without further ado, I shall pass you over to the Head Pupils, who will say the final words to you on this happy day!" said Dumbledore, smiling at Lily and James and beckoning them towards the stage with a round of applause.
"It's my privilege to stand before you today, as Head Boy, and say a few words before we part. I still have no idea what possessed Professor Dumbledore to appoint me as Head Boy, I think somebody must have slipped him a confunding elixir that day," James said, turning to grin at his Headmaster, as his classmates snorted with laughter. "I've tried my best to do a good job and not let him down, although if it wasn't for our wonderful Head Girl Lily Evans, I would have been completely fu- dead!"
More laughter and a few cries of "damned right!" from Lily's friends.
"I couldn't have wished for a happier ending to our school year. Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup, again, and though I can hardly claim much of a role in this victory, seeing as I missed the final, I'm immensely proud of our wonderful team!"
The Gryffindor students roared in approval.
"More importantly, my beautiful, talented, gorgeous girlfriend agreed to marry me a few days ago, and I can't help but think that a confunding elixir may have been involved there too!"
He turned and smiled at Lily amidst the clapping, a radiant, joyful, confident smile, any little doubts about her total commitment to their relationship having disappeared the moment she said yes to him. She shook her head and grinned back at him, green eyes dancing.
"I have made friends here that I know I will keep for the rest of my life. I consider them family. I have learnt a lot during my years in Hogwarts, from my friends, my teachers and those classmates who might consider themselves my enemies. To the younger students here today, and to our class, I have this to say: we are all flawed. Learn from your mistakes. Don't be too proud to admit when you are wrong. Ask for forgiveness when you know it's the right thing to do. Forgive your friends for their mistakes, but don't blind yourself to those who don't have your best interests at heart, and walk away from them. Do the right thing, even if it costs you. Stand up for the rights of your fellow students, don't let bigots poison your mind. You may be tempted to think what can I do, a mere teenager? I thought that too. But every time you refuse to bow down to terror and division, you are fighting for the future of our world, the world we all belong to – muggleborn, half-bloods and purebloods. If we stand together as one, future generations will be able to enjoy the fruits of that peace, when perhaps these distinctions based on blood will have disappeared, and nobody will use blood terms to describe witches and wizards any longer. I look forward to a time when nobody remembers what the Sacred Twenty-Eight refers to, and all that matters is that you are simply a witch or a wizard, and deserve to be here."
Lily squeezed his hand, expressing her support and love and recognising what he was referring to in his speech. The applause was less wholehearted now from certain sections of the room, and especially from some of the parents, who looked frankly disgusted. James looked over at Sirius and inclined his head slightly, a warmth spreading in his chest at the look of surprise and gratitude on his brother's face. He had learnt a lot from all his friends. Remus and Peter knew he was referring to them too and smiled back. He stepped back from the podium slightly and Lily cleared her throat, still holding his hand.
"Thank you, we need more James Potters in our world," she said, turning to smile at him.
"Here, here!" shouted Sirius from the student gallery, as Peter shushed him, mortified. "Outstanding speech!"
Lily laughed heartily and turned back to the audience.
"Professor Dumbledore and James have already spoken very eloquently, so I won't add much more, except to pass on one important thing I have learned. Fight your prejudices. We all come from different backgrounds. We all entered Hogwarts with our own prejudices, some of which we may not yet be fully aware of. I certainly wasn't. Try to have an open mind. Try to see the good in others. Sometimes you will feel hurt and betrayed. That is not a reason to let yourself be overcome with bitterness. Because at other times you will be surprised by how astonishingly you underestimated your classmates, and what wonderful people they will grow into. I want to leave you with these words from three muggle authors, very relevant to the world we are entering. I know many of you are anxious about the future. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us". Don't forget that, all of you, you have so much to contribute. Edmund Burke wrote that "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." It applies to us all. I have never believed this more than I do now. Doing nothing is not an option. I wish we had been born into happier, carefree years, that this war was not happening in our time. Another muggle writer, Tolkien, who had personally fought in the First World War wrote about this and said - "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us". There is still time, for all of us, to do the right thing."
She was looking straight at Severus Snape as she ended her speech, her clear eyes devoid of anger. He blinked and looked away, feeling ill. Did she really think he still had a choice, with the Dark Mark burnt into his forearm? He looked back up at her, but she was now looking at someone else, before beaming at her friends, as most of the people in the room rose to give them a standing ovation. The students near him scowled and jeered at the happy couple, the roar of applause drowning their displeasure. Severus nodded and made non-committal sounds, feeling rattled, lonely and on edge.
Was he ever going to see her again, talk to her again, touch her again, after today?
Regulus Black, the other person who Lily had directed part of her speech to, sat silently, deep in thought. He felt sad and worried at his brother's departure. Anther change, a bad one. Would they ever see each other again? He had thought someone was observing him last night as he played the pianoforte, as he often did. But this time a large book lay beside the door, with a note addressed to him.
Dear Reg,
Even though he doesn't say it, I know that Sirius misses you very much, dreads being parted from you and wants you to take great care. You know how to contact us if you ever need us, James said your Lion Patronus** is awesome and he's insanely jealous. I hope you enjoy this book, I think you will. James and Sirius skipped the introduction and the poetry, I disagree. If anyone aside from you tries to read it, the pages will immediately transform into a very dry tome on Ancient Runes.
"You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin – to the bitter end."
Remus
He had never heard of it, "The Lord of the Rings", there was a wizard on the cover, in grey robes, striding forwards in the rain, with a large stick. He had started reading and found he couldn't stop. He had stayed up half the night. He really wanted to thank Remus. Every time he picked up the heavy book and placed it on his lap, he felt grounded. Like he had a part of Sirius with him.
…..
"Just so you know, I just asked Penny Maverley out, figured I had nothing to lose on our last day," said Peter to his friends, as they walked outside to take some photographs.
He looked unusually smug.
"You what? Without telling us?" said James, staring open-mouthed at his friend. "WITHOUT TELLING US?"
"And?" yelled Sirius, grabbing Peter's shoulders and shaking him excitedly. "What did she say?"
"She said yes, obviously?" said Remus, grinning broadly at Peter.
Peter nodded, puffing up his chest.
"Bloody hell, Wormy! Brilliant news, mate! Brilliant!" said James grabbing hold of him and practically tackling him to the ground along with Sirius, as Peter squealed.
"About fucking time!" shouted Sirius. "I can stop lobbing those awful sticking charms your way!"
"Excellent, Wormy, you dark horse!" said Remus, catching Peter's eye and laughing at his friends' antics.
Peter looked back, looking positively glowing and gave him the thumbs up.
"Alright, everyone cram into the photo, girls grab your hats!" said Dearborn, grinning at the over-excited students. "Three, two, one, jump!"
He caught the moment perfectly – Lily and James holding hands as they screamed and jumped skywards, Lily's hat flying up into the air, you could practically see them making heart eyes at each other. Sirius' arms spread out wide, mid-air, as his head bent backwards to laugh, all the while holding Remus' gaze. Remus would come back to this photo time and time again in years to come, the look of mischief and adoration on Sirius' face and his own warm, unguarded, equally smitten look. Peter's relaxed, excited face as he caught Jenny Maverley's hat and got a kiss on the cheek from her. Dorcas and Emmeline yelling as they competed to see which of them had thrown their witch's hat the highest. Rosie and Benjy, looking slightly self-conscious, but thrilled.
"You're coming to live with me, Moony!" Sirius called gleefully, catching Emmeline's hat and throwing it at Remus.
"Merlin, what have I done?" laughed Remus, deftly avoiding the hat and rolling his eyes in mock- horror as Sirius ran over to him and embraced him.
"You've just made the best decision of your life, Moony!" grinned Sirius, winking at his boyfriend seductively. "Prongs is engaged, Wormy has a girlfriend, you've agreed to put up with me for the foreseeable future, we're all going to be living together. What could possibly go wrong?"
He was standing so close to Remus, his grey eyes startlingly clear, the bright sunshine reflecting on his high cheekbones and silky dark hair, slightly breathless, smiling and carefree and impossibly gorgeous. Remus felt a rare, unexpected surge of optimism. Perhaps it was the warmth of the afternoon sun, or the warmth of Sirius' body, or his friends' words, or the fact he had come first in History of Magic and Arithmancy, or that James, Lily and Sirius had topped the class. Or the look of pride and joy on his parents' faces. Or everything rolled into one.
"You've always been my best decision," he said quietly, pulling Sirius in for a sweet kiss.
Sirius looked at him in surprise as they pulled apart, fingers playing with Remus' shirt collar.
"Wow!" said Sirius, smiling at Remus and biting his lower lip.
"No witty retort, Pads?" said Remus, smiling back, and bringing their foreheads together.
"None whatsoever," said Sirius, huffing a soft laugh.
"Come along chaps!" called James, his arm slung over Lily's shoulder.
He gave his future wife a joyful kiss and she smiled back, savouring the last time she would get to see him in his school uniform, committing the image to memory. Sirius linked arms with James and Remus, Peter running to join them as he waved goofily to Penny.
"To dear old Uncle Alphard's flat!" said James grandly. "The Marauders need fear detentions no more, Filch is but a distant memory, and Wormy has the bird… need I say more? The future awaits!"
"The future!" they all called out as one.
What could possibly go wrong?
Notes:
*Ministry - In the WCBH universe, The Werewolf Registry & Werewolf Capture Unit of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was originally based in a ramshackle building in Pall Mall. After it burnt down "accidentally" in 1978, it was incorporated into the main Ministry building, but eventually closed down.
** Reg having a lion Patronus is a headcanon I've seen quite a bit and I love the idea!
Hey I hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks so much to anyone who left comments, I'm so grateful!
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